


Prompts, Drabbles & Ficlets

by Momuno



Category: Beetlejuice - Perfect/Brown & King
Genre: Beetlejuice is touch starved, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Lesbian Lydia Deetz, Multi, Other, Rating varies per chapter, Tags get added per chapter, Warnings in author's note
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-11
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 06:02:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20204911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Momuno/pseuds/Momuno
Summary: A collection of all the prompts and Drabbles I write over on my Tumblr account, because I am in dire need of practicing direct speech.





	1. "When I'm with you, I'm home." (Gen)

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** _"When I'm with you, I'm home."_  
**Characters:** _Adam and Barbara_  
**Originally Posted: [Here](https://beetle-cat.tumblr.com/post/186843777792/15-when-im-with-you-im-home-with-adam-and)**  
**Content Warning:** _Talk about Death_

“Do you ever think about moving on?” It was a timid question. Quiet almost. It was spoken in a way that made Adam wonder whether Barbara had even meant for him to hear. He looked up from the model of a small tree he was currently working on. Barbara had her back turned towards him, looking out of the attic window into the garden behind the house. He put down the small piece of plastic.  
“Moving on? What do you mean?”  
“You know. Move on." Barbara shrugged before turning around. A sad smile on her face. "Leave this house to Lydia and her family. Start our journey in the Netherworld.”  
“Oh”  
Truth be told, Adam had thought about it. Not very often and not very hard, but he liked to know his options. Liked to know the possibilities he and Barbara had, now that they had come to terms with the fact that they were dead. Sometimes it was hard to believe that their death already lay more than 40 years behind them. 40 years in which a lot had happened. Most importantly Lydia had grown up. She had moved out for College, had found a beautiful wife and had started a family of her own. And while in the beginning, she had come back to their little house in Winter River Connecticut every month, her job had forced her to move to London. She still tried to keep in contact with them, but it wasn’t always easy and ever since Charles and Delia had moved out, the Maitlands spend most of their days on their own.  
“I mean yes. A little. Have you thought about it?” The guilt in Barbara’s eyes was answer enough. Even though Adam didn’t understand why she would feel guilty about it.'  
“I think I want to move on. I love this house and I love Lydia but… don’t you feel trapped? We’ve spent decades here. Not going forward, not going anywhere. I think it is time.”  
Adam nodded, then without actually answering he stood up. It only took a few steps for him to stand in front of Barbara and envelop her in a hug.  
“It’s okay,” he mumbled, letting her hide her face in the crook of his neck.  
“It’s okay. We’ve spent a lot of time here. I think we are ready to take the next step.” Barbara shrugged, still not moving out of his arms.  
“But what about Lydia?”  
“Lydia is a grown woman now. I am sure that if we explain it to her, she will understand.”

* * *

It was a few months later when Lydia managed to come and visit them. It was January and snow was softly falling, turning the world outside into a magical winter land. The woman had sat down on the couch. A book in one hand, while the other played with her silver-streaked hair. Adam was always happy to see these silver streaks. They meant that Lydia had had a life. Looking young in death only meant that there was so much you didn’t get to do.  
He sat down across from her, while Barbara took the seat next to Lydia on the couch. The woman looked up, raising an eyebrow slightly.  
“Am I in trouble?”, she asked, a grin flashing across her face. Adam shook his head.  
“No. There is just something we wanted to talk to you about.” Lydia nodded slowly, allowing the man to continue.  
“Barbara and I, we…” he stopped. How could he continue with this sentence? How could he tell her, the woman that in all ways except genetically, was his daughter, that both of them wanted to leave? Especially after they had promised her so long ago that they wouldn’t do exactly that. It was Barbara who finally said it. The tone in her voice was sad, full of regret and yet at the same time strangle determined. As if she knew that if she allowed herself to doubt, she wouldn’t be able to pull through with it.  
“We thought that it was time for us to leave this realm.”  
Lydia didn’t answer, but she placed the book in her hand down on the coffee table.  
“We’re sorry Lydia.” Adam was glad his voice didn’t break at the words.  
The woman shook her head. Eyes still trained on the book she had put down.  
“Mom, Pops.” Adam still remembered the first time Lydia had called them by those names. Back then it filled him with so much happiness that he hadn’t been able to stop smiling for over a week. Now his unbeating heart felt a pang of sadness. Adam closed his eyes, willing to stay like that until Lydia had finished what she wanted to say but a warm hand that was placed on his clod on, made him open them again. Lydia had leaned forward. One hand holding Barbara’s, while the other rested on his. A sad smile lay on her lips.  
“I understand.” and even though Adam could see tears well up in her eyes, he knew that she was speaking the truth.  
“I have expected this for a while now. Actually, Beej was the one to tell me that you would grow restless. It’s normal. Your souls belong in the netherworld and I accepted that a long time ago.” Adam could hear Barbara sniffle slightly. “And I am so thankful that you stuck around, as long as you did.” At that Lydia squeezed both of their hands.  
“I’m not going to stop you. I guess it’s nice knowing that you will be waiting for me when I join you.”  
“Lydia!”  
“Which is hopefully many, many years away. Don’t worry mom.”  
“We love you very much, Lydia.”, Adam felt like it was the right thing to say in the situation.  
“I know. And I love you as well. Both of you.”  
The next thing Adam knew, the three of them had congregated to the middle of the room, where a long group hug ensued. It was a few minutes later when Lydia spoke up again.  
“When you are ready. I can call him. He’ll know what you’ll have to do, once you get there.”  
Barbara shook her head.  
“Do you think that’s a good idea?”  
“Oh come on. He’s changed. He knows how to behave now. At least… somewhat.”

About an hour later, when everything between them had been said, Adam and Barbara found themselves in the attic. So many memories stuck to these old walls. So many stories could be told about everything in there.  
“Are you sure, we’re doing the right thing?” Barbara was standing in the doorway. Starring at everything they once owned. Everything material they would leave behind.  
“This is our home, Adam.”  
Adam smiled softly, taking his wife’s hands into his and shook his head.  
“Barbara. I don’t care where we are, as long as we are together. When I’m with you, I’m home. And Lydia is right. We belong in the netherworld. We both know it. But it will be okay. We’ll do it together, just like everything else.”  
A wet laugh escaped Barbara’s lungs before she pulled Adam into a tight hug.  
“Together. That sounds good.” She turned around, nodding towards Lydia who was leaning against the model of the town Adam had been working on for so long.  
“We are ready.” Lydia nodded and then she spoke the three words, neither of the two dead people in the room had heard in so long. A puff of smoke answered the woman’s call and then a raspy voice filled the attic.  
“Hi. I’ll be your guide.”


	2. Touch Starved (Gen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Prompt:** _"Touche Starved"_  
**Characters:** _Barbara & Beetlejuice_  
**Originally Posted: [Here](https://beetle-cat.tumblr.com/post/186964705022/beetlejuicebeetlejuicebeeee-this-isnt-about)**  
**Content Warning:** _Fear of abandonment_

“You said you wouldn't replace me!” The outraged scream came from Lydia's room and Barbara and Adam exchanged one look before the dead woman sighed softly and put down the book she was reading to check out what had the demon, that had somehow wormed his way into the patchwork family the Deetz' and Maitland's had formed, so angry.  
“I am not replacing you!” Lydia's answer was similar loud but sounded more annoyed than aggravated.  
“Yes, you are!”  
“Stop acting like a child, Beej!”  
Barbara hurried down the stairs that lead to the attic. Beetlejuice and Lydia weren't fighting often but when they were it more often than not ended in tears. Mainly on the demon's part. She appeared in the door frame to Lydia's room the exact moment Lydia threw a pillow at Beetlejuice whose hair, to no surprise, was bright red. There was something comforting about the demon being the ghostly equivalent of a mood ring. It was easy to evaluate almost every situations.  
“What is going on here?”  
The blond woman's arms were crossed in front of her body and she was wearing her best 'stern parent' look, even though she knew that that was only mildly fruitful. The fighting friends turned around. Upon seeing her, Beetlejuice in typical Beetlejuice fashion stomped once, giving his best impression off a pouting toddler, and pointed accusingly at Lydia.  
“She's replacing me, even though she promised she wouldn't!”  
The girl in question rolled her eyes before she took the obviously full backpack that lay on her bed and slung it over her shoulder.  
“I am not replacing him.”, she explained, moving towards the door and waiting for Barbara to step aside, so that she could leave the room. “I'm simply spending the night at _my girlfriend's place._” The last words were pretty much thrown into Beetlejuice's direction, who once more proofed his maturity when he retorted by sticking out his tongue at her.  
“Does...” Barbara started, not even caring about the demons antics behind her but Lydia nodded before she could end the sentence.  
“Yes Dad knows, who do you think is driving me. Also, Beetlejuice.” The blonde woman knew that the demon flinched slightly at the usage of his name. It was only Lydia who managed to get this reaction out of him.  
“If you even think about following me.” the young girl continued. “I will not hesitate and send you right back to the netherworld. So be a doll and stay put!” And with one last “Bye Mom.”, Lydia was down the stairs and out of the front door.

Barbara was about to turn and move back upstairs, Adam probably wanted to know what had been going on down here, when she heard a soft voice from behind her.  
“She's abandoning me.” Barbara knew that Beetlejuice had two main reactions to jealousy. One was anger. The first emotion, probably because it was the easier one of the two, he resorted to when he thought that someone was trying to take his place. The other was what was happening now, a mix of fear and sadness. Sadness because of a lifetime spent in solitude and fear because the last thing he wanted was to go back to the lonely existence he had before he met Lydia.  
So when Barbara turned to face the demon and she saw that his hair had turned to a dark purple with even darker blue streaks her first instinct was to go over the and hug him. A first instinct she didn't act on. Had it been anyone else Barbara wouldn't have wasted a second to march over there and reassure them that everything was fine and that nobody was trying to replace them. But she just couldn't bring herself to do it.  
This was the man that had tried to exorcise her, that had tried to kill her husband. The man that had blackmailed Lydia into...  
If the others forgave him that easily, so be it, but that didn't mean she had to do so. She tolerated him, wasn't that enough? And yet, when she saw his lower lip tremble a little bit and his eyes mist up she couldn't help the pang of compassion that filled her. But that still didn't mean she was going to hug him.  
Instead, Barbara reached out her hand and softly treated her fingers threw the hair on the right side of the demons head. Almost immediately said demon stopped moving.  
A soft “Oh”, escaped his lungs and the next thing Barbara knew, Beetlejuice was full-on leaning into the touch. This shouldn't have come as a surprise. Beetlejuice tented to soak physical affection, or any sort of affection really, up like a sponge.  
“Lydia is not abandoning you.”, she said quietly, applying the tiniest amount of pressure, so she could sort of massage his scalp. His hair was surprisingly soft for the fact that it probably hadn't been washed in a long, long time, if ever.  
“Then why does she spend time with other people.” The words broke the spell that seemed to had kept Barbara in place and she quickly retreated her hand. Beetlejuice furrowed his brows at the lack of contact but didn't comment on it, even though Barbara could see his eyes clearly come to rest on her hand, instead of her eyes.  
“Just because she likes someone else as well, doesn't mean she likes you less.”, Barbara explained, not willing to let the moment get any more awkward.  
“That's perfectly normal and you have to accept that if you don't want to chase her away.” With these words, she turned around, leaving the room and the demon in it to think about her words. She reached the stairs in a few strides but threw one last look back, when she had started to ascent them. She could barely see into Lydia's room from here, but if she wasn't mistaken Beetlejuice hadn't moved from the spot he was standing in. His right hand, however, now rested in his hairs. Almost as if he was trying to recreate the touch he had just experienced.

It was later that evening, Adam had offered Delia to help with the dishes when Barbara encountered Beetlejuice the next time. This time he actively sought her out though. She was sitting in her favorite armchair, reading the book Lydia had given her for her birthday, when the door to the attic was opened and a shy voice mumbled: “Hey, Babs?”  
The ghost looked up in surprise. Not only had she been expecting her husband, no, she had also never heard Beetlejuice sound shy before. Most of the time she had experienced him, either happy, depressed or angry. Never like this. Like he didn't actually know what to do with himself.  
“Yes?”, she asked, not rising from her seat.  
The demon tabbed his food against the floor, and wiggled a little bit, before continuing.  
“The thing you did early, you know, with my head.” at this point he was looking at her expectingly. Barbara nodded, silently telling him to go on.  
“Yeah, I was wondering, not that I need it or anything. But if you want to do that again.” Beetlejuice forced a laugh. “What I'm saying is, that I wouldn't stop you if you tried.”  
Her first instinct was to say no. To tell him, that she wanted him to leave the attic and cause havoc somewhere else. But something made her stop. He wasn't really asking for much. It was just the innocent wish of a creature that hardly ever experienced love. Could she really find it in herself to deny him this little favor?  
“If you make one lewd comment, I am stopping.”, she mumbled, instead of giving an actual answer, but it was enough. Beetlejuice's face lit up like a child would, if they were told that Christmas would come early that year and he was next to Barbara in the blink of an eye. Since she hadn't moved to stand, he simply plopped down onto the floor.  
It was awkward at first. Placing her hand on top of his head and petting it softly, but soon said head had found its way into her lap and the petting had turned to actual massaging.  
“If you were to wash your hair, this would feel better.”, Barbara explained after a short while of silence. Instead of an answer Beetlejuice merely hummed in content and Barbara couldn't help but laugh softly. They would probably never manage to make him take a shower.

That was the way Adam found them, when he returned to the attic, a short while after. Barbara sitting in her armchair, while Beetlejuice knelt next to her, his head resting in her lap, while her hand softly treated through his hair, massaging his scalp from time to time. His eyes were closed and if Barbara wasn't fully mistaken, he was making a noise fascinatingly similar to what the purring of a cat sounded like. She looked up when she noticed her husband standing in the room. One of his eyebrows was raised questioningly, but Barbara just shrugged and looked back down to the demon.  
Maybe, she decided, Beetlejuice wasn't even that bad.

**Author's Note:**

> As always. If you want to talk to me, or send me prompts, headcanons etc. you can do so over on Tumblr: [Beetle-cat](https://beetle-cat.tumblr.com/)  
Have a great day and thank you very much for reading.  

> 
> _\- Hannah_


End file.
